1. Technical Field
This invention relates in general to data access and storage devices, and in particular to disk drives. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a storage library of media that are removable therefrom via automated control with positive retention and zero insertion force.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a data access and storage system consists of one or more storage devices that store data on magnetic or optical storage media. For example, a magnetic storage device is known as a direct access storage device (DASD) or a hard disk drive (HDD) and includes one or more disks and a disk controller to manage local operations concerning the disks. The hard disks themselves are usually made of aluminum alloy or a mixture of glass and ceramic, and are covered with a magnetic coating. Typically, two or three disks are stacked vertically on a common spindle that is turned by a disk drive motor at several thousand revolutions per minute (rpm).
The only other moving part within a typical HDD is the actuator assembly. Within most HDDs, the magnetic read/write head is mounted on a slider. A slider generally serves to mechanically support the head and any electrical connections between the head and the rest of the disk drive system. The slider is aerodynamically shaped to glide over moving air in order to maintain a uniform distance from the surface of the rotating disk, thereby preventing the head from undesirably contacting the disk.
Typically, a slider is formed with an aerodynamic pattern of protrusions (air bearing design) on its air bearing surface (ABS) that enables the slider to fly at a constant height close to the disk during operation of the disk drive. A slider is associated with each side of each platter and flies just over the platter""s surface. Each slider is mounted on a suspension to form a head gimbal assembly (HGA). The HGA is then attached to a semi-rigid actuator arm that supports the entire head flying unit. Several semi-rigid arms may be combined to form a single armature unit.
Each read/write head scans the surface of a disk during a xe2x80x9creadxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cwritexe2x80x9d operation. The head and arm assembly is moved utilizing an actuator that is often a voice coil motor (VCM). The stator of a VCM is mounted to a base plate or casting on which the spindle is also mounted. The base casting is in turn mounted to a frame via a compliant suspension. When current is fed to the motor, the VCM develops force or torque that is substantially proportional to the applied current. The arm acceleration is therefore substantially proportional to the magnitude of the current. As the read/write head approaches a desired track, a reverse polarity signal is applied to the actuator, causing the signal to act as a brake, and ideally causing the read/write head to stop directly over the desired track.
The individual storage media in, for example, a redundant array of independent storage devices, are typically each loaded in a carrier, mounted in a drawer in the storage subsystem, and individually connected in parallel to a backplane. Each device has a read/write interface, such as a conventional small computer system interface (SCSI) or Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) connector, that allows the host computer to access and store data on the device. Although current hardware designs are acceptable, an improved and more efficient system and method for handling the individual storage devices would be desirable.
In one embodiment of a library of disk drives of the present invention, the individual drives are each provided with a combination mechanical and electrical connector for interfacing with a library backplane. Each connector interface has two components. The first component is mounted to the disk drive and has an electrical contact with a metallic burnished core of highly conductive material that is surrounded by an annular magnet. The mating component is on the backplane and is similarly formed with the opposite pole of a second magnet. When the two components are brought into close proximity, the two contacts attract each other, mating the contact cores, and thus establish an electrical connection. This connection is augmented by a spring mechanism to provide a solid, reliable connection.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, in view of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings.